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This policy brief examines the challenges and instruments of agricultural financing in developing countries, emphasizing the need for a coherent strategy involving governments, financial institutions, and private actors to mitigate risks and boost production, infrastructure, and research.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) discusses the importance of integrated policy approaches for regional sustainable development, focusing on river basin governance. It uses the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Yangtze River Economic Belt as primary examples of how multi-jurisdictional coordination and hydroelectric power can drive regional economic growth while transitioning toward green energy and environmental protection.

This report describes a project by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to develop and test a Water-Energy-Food (WEF) security assessment tool (WEFsat-Mining) in Suriname. The project aimed to help decision-makers understand the interlinkages between mining operations and the environmental and social factors that contribute to community well-being, specifically focusing on the availability and access to water, energy, and food.

The WEFsat-Mining Tool User Guidance Manual describes a Microsoft Excel-based tool developed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to analyze the potential benefits and impacts of mining operations on community-level water, energy, and food (WEF) security.

This report assesses the impact of human migration on the Bale Mountains ecosystem, highlighting how migration accelerates land conversion and the overexploitation of natural resources, while proposing response strategies to protect conservation and traditional livelihoods.

This research paper analyzes the impact of currency risk on infrastructure projects in developing markets, arguing that hard currency loans from International Financing Institutions (IFIs) create dangerous asset-liability mismatches. The authors propose that IFIs shift their strategy from direct lending to developing local capital markets and providing credit guarantees. This approach aims to leverage private commercial capital and reduce the financial burden on host governments and end-users.

This policy brief examines the impact of human migration on the Bale Mountains ecosystem in southeast Ethiopia, specifically focusing on the Harenna Forest. By comparing the woredas of Harenna Buluk and Delo Mena, the document analyzes how political pull factors and economic push factors drive migration, leading to accelerated deforestation, biodiversity loss, and a shift from traditional pastoralism to profit-oriented crop farming. The authors propose several policy interventions, including the regulation of informal land markets, the use of flagship species for conservation, and the development of sustainable livelihoods such as tourism.

This report examines the impact of migration, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on the Lake Albert ecosystem in Buliisa District, Uganda. It highlights how the influx of low-cost migrant labor and increased market demand have led to severe overfishing, the degradation of aquatic biodiversity, and the failure of local fisheries co-management structures.

This research paper examines the allocation of revenue risks and rewards in public-private partnerships (PPPs) for road infrastructure. It argues that optimal risk allocation—where risk is borne by the party best positioned to manage it—maximizes value for money (VFM) and reduces total costs to society. The author analyzes mechanisms for protecting concessionaires from downside revenue risks (e.g., minimum revenue guarantees) and preventing excessive private returns through upside revenue sharing (e.g., revenue caps).

This document is a country study and data sheet prepared by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the Oil Change International (OCI) regarding fossil fuel production subsidies in France for the years 2013 and 2014. It serves as a background paper to the report 'Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production' to establish a baseline for tracking the phase-out of these subsidies during the global energy transition.

This document provides a side-by-side translation and comparison of two Cooperation and Investment Facilitation Agreements (CIFAs) signed in 2015 between Brazil and Mozambique, and Brazil and Angola. These agreements establish institutional frameworks to foster reciprocal investments through Joint Committees and Focal Points (Ombudsmen) while avoiding traditional investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in favor of state-to-state cooperation and dispute prevention.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes Ontario's successful phase-out of coal-fired electricity generation, which was completed by the end of 2014. The study examines the factors that enabled this transition—categorized as context, champions, concerns, and complementary policies—and evaluates the resulting impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, public health, and the economy.

This commentary by Scott Vaughan, President and CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), discusses the book 'On the Edge: The State and Fate of the World’s Tropical Rainforests' by Claude Martin. The text outlines the scientific history of tropical rainforest research, the primary drivers of deforestation—specifically agriculture and infrastructure—and the progress made through protected areas and remote sensing. It further examines the intersection of forest loss with climate change, carbon emissions, and the risks of species extinction.

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) maps trade-related elements within the draft Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Financing for Development (FfD) outcome document. It proposes a three-level architecture for follow-up and review—national, regional, and global—to ensure that trade policies are coherent with sustainable development objectives. The authors argue that because trade's contribution to the post-2015 Agenda is diffuse, a coordinated review process involving existing multilateral and regional mechanisms is essential to facilitate learning and policy improvement.

This World Bank Group report provides a framework for using investment contracts to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of large-scale agricultural projects in developing countries. It identifies five key positive outcomes and five primary weaknesses associated with these investments, offering specific legal and contractual options to ensure sustainable development and the protection of local communities.

This research paper, published by the World Bank Group in June 2015, examines the role of investment contracts in large-scale agricultural projects in developing countries. It provides a framework for designing contracts that maximize positive socio-economic outcomes—such as job creation and food security—while minimizing risks like land loss and environmental degradation. The document integrates empirical evidence from UNCTAD and World Bank field studies with legal analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

The report provides guidance for peacebuilding practitioners on accessing and using climate data in fragile, data-poor states to reduce risks to populations and peacebuilding progress.

This report provides guidance for peacebuilding practitioners in fragile states on accessing and using climate data to manage risks. It highlights how conflict destroys meteorological infrastructure—citing examples from Afghanistan and Rwanda—and suggests using satellite-derived data (such as GPCP and MODIS) as alternatives. The report outlines the differences between historical, current, and prospective climate information and provides a four-step framework for rebuilding national weather services, based on a case study from Sierra Leone.

This report evaluates China's 2010 reform of residential electricity pricing, which transitioned from a flat-rate system to a tiered electricity pricing (TEP) mechanism. The reform aimed to improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental pollution, and address the regressive nature of flat subsidies that disproportionately benefited high-income households. While the central government set general principles, provincial governments designed specific price ladders and volume blocks. The report analyzes the impacts on different income groups, the role of grid companies, and the challenges of public communication and operational feasibility.

This report examines India's diesel subsidy reform from 2012 to 2014, highlighting how a phased approach of incremental price increases successfully achieved formal decontrol by October 2014. While the reform reduced diesel demand and stabilized external deficits, the report notes that the benefits of the previous subsidies were regressive, primarily aiding wealthy households and states. It concludes that the political cost of delaying reform was high, and that the government's failure to link savings to social spending damaged its public standing.